Grac*e-mail for 06/29/10
got grace?
Having fun every night this week at VBS! The scripture below is our theme…
John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!
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Ephesians 6:11-18
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil.12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery Darts of the wicked one.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…”
NKJV
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Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!
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A Little Help for a Lady
By Bass Mitchell
Some time ago I visited New York City. Nothing stands out more in my memory than what I saw in New York Harbor. There she was, standing 302 feet above the water and weighing 225 tons - the Statue of Liberty. In her left hand she held a tablet on which was inscribed: The Fourth of July, 1776. But what really awed me was her massive right arm that's twelve foot in width as it held a torch high above her head like a light to the rest of the world. A light flooded my soul, in spite of the darkness that had descended upon this great city and on our own country because of 9/11. A sense of pride and hope overwhelmed me - just a little of what those first persons sailing into the harbor must have felt when they first saw Lady Liberty. And I began to think about what a great country this is - all the things that make her great. I realized for all her problems, she was still the greatest nation on earth and that I could live no place else.
Then I thought about the story of a man who once took his granddaughter with him on a visit to New York City. They rode the ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty. The little girl was awed by the sight of the great arm holding up that huge lamp. On the return boat to Manhattan she kept looking back at the statue. That night when she could not sleep her grandfather asked if something was troubling her. "I keep thinking of the lady with the lamp," she said. "Don't you think somebody ought to help her hold it up?"
Yes, her arm is getting weary these days. Yes, we can help her by…
Saying a prayer every now and then for our country and our leaders…rather than just making complaints...
Protecting and preserving our natural resources…like our oceans...
Not waiting for the government to do everything for us, but taking initiative to do what we can to make our country and world a better place to live for ourselves and the generations to come…
Exercising our rights, like voting, for which so many have fought and died…
Lifting the load of someone we meet in need…
Being patient, kind, and courteous when we are behind the wheel and in everything else we do…
Volunteering our time at a local adult day care, hospital, school, homeless shelter, and anywhere else we might be needed…
Working for liberty and justice for all people everywhere and in every way we can…helping that light to shine in all dark places...
Daily giving thanks for the privilege and the responsibilities of living in a nation God has so richly blessed…
I see and hear this message everywhere: GOD BLESS AMERICA. Did you ever stop to think that this is a prayer God is waiting to answer through you and me? How can you and I best help answer that prayer this day? How can we this day reach up and give Lady Liberty a little hand holding up that light?
--
Bass Mitchell
pastor.bass@gmail.com
http://www.epiphanyumc.com
bass.mitchell@homiliesbyemail.com
http://www.homiliesbyemail.com
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Are you looking for some online Bible study tools? Here is a link to “Into Thy Word” Ministries…
http://70030.netministry.com/
A little from their “About” page…
Who We Are
In 1978, Under Francis A. Schaeffer’s guidance and vision, “Into Thy Word” was founded!
Whatever happened to discipleship? Evangelical leadership has forgotten the basics of its call, make disciples. Thus, the Holy Spirit and the Bible gave Into Thy Word its call and I its start. Their mandate is simple, model and teach “true spirituality” to pastors, churches and young people. Teaching them “how to study the Bible” so to place the Centrality and Lordship of Christ into their lives and church. I cannot think of anything that is more needed or important for a church to aggressively support and do. Francis A. Schaeffer, Switzerland, 1983
Into Thy Word Ministries Vision
It is our VISION and call, and commitment to “true spirituality” to point the church back onto the path of making disciples. It is our passion and directive to lead Christians away from our false perceptions and into His way.
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Got these from “Pun of the Day”. You can subscribe at
http://www.punoftheday.com/
I was against the construction of tennis courts in the park as I thought they would cause too much racket.
I should have been sad when my flashlight batteries died, but I was delighted.
When I bought some fruit trees the nursery owner gave me some insects to help with pollination. They were free bees.
Simultaneous management of elephants and walruses requires the ability to multitusk.
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Haha…
A man was riding his Harley along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head... In a booming voice, the Lord said, "Because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish."
The biker pulled over and said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over anytime I want."
The Lord said, "Your request is materialistic. Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking; the supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific and the concrete and steel it would take! I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that could possibly help mankind."
The biker thought about it for a long time... Finally, he said, "Lord, I wish that I, and all men, could understand our wives; I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing's wrong, and how I can make a woman truly happy."
The Lord replied, "You want two lanes or four on that bridge?"
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Now to be fair – here is another funny…(Got this one from Pastor Danny Holdren)
Three Men on a Hike
Three men were hiking through a forest when they came upon a large raging, violent river. Needing to get to the other side, the first man prayed: 'God, please give me the strength to cross the river.'
Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs and he was able to swim across in about 2 hours, having almost drowned twice.
After witnessing that, the second man prayed: 'God, please give me strength and the tools to cross the river'
Poof! God gave him a rowboat and strong arms and strong legs and he was able to row across in about an hour after almost capsizing once.
Seeing what happened to the first two men, the third man prayed: 'God, please give me the strength, the tools and the intelligence to cross the river'
Poof! He was turned into a woman. She checked the map, hiked one hundred yards up stream and walked across the bridge.
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Got this at
http://holidays.net/independence/
Here is the full text of the Declaration of Independence...
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation
US Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained, and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
* For protecting them by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
* For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
* For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
* For depriving us in many cases of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
* For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
* For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
* For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
* For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren.
* We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.
* We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here.
* We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.
They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare.
That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
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To subscribe to this group, send email to
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Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net
When difficult times come -- and they will -- we can decide to become bitter, angry, and brittle. Or, we can choose to open our lives to the presence of God, whose nature it is to enlarge us and deepen us and make us better because of what we have endured. --Charles E. Poole
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Psalm 119:9-16
How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O LORD!
Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have declared
All the judgments of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.
16 I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
NKJV
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Send good stories and clean funnies to: johnlynnbright@gmail.com
NOTE - All material contained in this mailing is shared as received and is believed, by me, to be anonymous... unless credit is given. Please contact me at the address above if you know the author of any material so that I may give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Grac*e-mail for 06/21/10 got grace?
Grac*e-mail for 06/21/10
got grace?
Missed last week with my trip to Norfolk for the Virginia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. You can see on little comment on my time there below.
John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!
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Prov 30:5-6
5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
NKJV
Rev 22:18-19
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
NKJV
Last Tuesday, I sat in Norfolk Scope for our Virginia Annual Conference meeting. As a part of our morning session, we had worship. This is how the Daily News describes it –
http://www.vaumc.org/Page.aspx?pid=1627
“The audience prepared for worship with Vance Ross that is featuring Voices of Youth, celebrating 25 years of ministry.
Ross read Scripture from Acts. In the text they see how people acted after the Spirit moved them. He spoke on "Awesome-Building." He talked about attending conferences in churches, colleges, smaller venues. And now he's at the Norfolk Scope, an "awesome building." After the Holy Spirit visited, different people lived together, spoke together, held all things in common. "Nobody was cut out because they didn't go to Duke or Candler or Wesley, Iliff, Boston," Ross said. "They built people, they built a movement. They built what we are."
What is does not report is that Rev. Ross – a member of the Baltimore/Washington Conference and serves as Deputy General Secretary of the General Board of Discipleship – went on to tell us that the 1st c. church in Jerusalem did not discriminate based on a person’s sexual orientation. You may ask, “What proof did he offer?” This is it – “IT’S NOT IN THERE THAT THEY DID!”
For the record, I did not listen to the rest of the sermon… I got up and walked out. But I did talk to folks who stayed and he did not offer any other proof.
Now, back to last Tuesday, here is the problem I have with the statements made by Rev. Ross: this is an argument from negative evidence ( similar to the Argument From Ignorance, also known by its Latin name argumentum ad ignorantiam, is the fallacy of assuming something is false if not proven to be true. )
This is my favorite example of the argument from negative evidence – the disciples and Jesus never went to the bathroom. How do I know? “It can’t be found in the Gospels!”
I can make a strong argument that the Early Church in Jerusalem cared about the sexual orientation of its Jewish membership. Just look at what happens when the Jewish-Christian Paul runs into incest and homosexuality in the Corinthian Church. He does not tell them to embrace the Roman culture – rather he encourages them to flee from it.
I believe that Rev. Ross should be more careful in what he tells a few thousand folks in Virginia, but it also made me look at what I had told my congregation. This Summer I am preaching on the Power given to the Church following the Pentecost Experience in Acts 2. Two weeks ago I was preaching on the Healing Power manifest in the healing of the lame man in Acts 3. I mentioned that many commentaries make much of this man not going to them for healing – but I made a case for this man going to God over and over again in his 40 years of life. And I also made a case for his family and friends interceding on his behalf over and over again.
Did I make the same mistake? I think not because daily and weekly prayer times in Jewish homes included prayer for the sick. They prayed for God to heal – they prayed to Jehovah Rapha to touch those who were in need. Do I have proof they prayed for the man who got up and leaped? (btw – if that man leaped, his healing was complete) No, but it is a very safe assumption that God answered prayers for healing then; even as He does today.
I hope this will open up some conversation – see the Grac*e-mail Facebook page or the blog to make comments.
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Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!
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Got this link from Doug and Mary Jones ( it was good to see them at the Evangelical Fellowship Luncheon lat week!)…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY
You can check out more videos at
http://www.skitguys.com/
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Pastor Danny Holdren sent this one…
Can't remember if I told you, but I have moved out from Beggars Alley, located at the corner of Poverty Lane and Down and Out Circle
MY NEW ADDRESS as of today.
is Living Well on 231 Abundance Terrace , located at the corner of Blessings Drive and Prosperity Peak , It's in the God Can neighborhood.
No longer will I allow myself to travel on Begging Peter to Pay Paul Route, located at the dead end intersection called I Don't Have, which connects with Borrowers Junction! I no longer hang out at Failure's Place near Excuses Avenue, next to Procrastination Point.
I've moved to an upscale community called Higher Heights with unlimited potential and opportunities for me to succeed. I can do ALL things through CHRIST who strengthens me!
Life is good because God is good! Care to change your address? There are many vacancies!
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS Oh LORD! I AM WELL BLESSED, in spite of temporary circumstances!!!!!! (AND SO ARE YOU)
DON'T TELL GOD HOW BIG YOUR STORMS ARE; TELL YOUR STORMS HOW BIG YOUR GOD IS!!
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Got these from “Pun of the Day”. You can subscribe at
http://www.punoftheday.com/
The dessert chef was very smart. He had graduated Pie Baker Kappa.
My friend came around for dinner. We ate for 20 minutes, then he fainted again.
Why was the snake mad at the jewel thief? Because he wanted his diamondback.
We've missed our favorite tea at the Chinese restaurant where we often dine, but we've been getting oolong.
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This ministry will provide free digital audio players preloaded with the Bible in any language for missionary teams…
Every Church Every Village, a church partnership ministry of Faith Comes By Hearing, is funded by donors with a heart to reach the nations with God’s Word. Through this program, church teams, ministries, and individuals can take FREE Proclaimers – available in more than 430 languages – on their mission trips.
Here is what one missions team experienced when they took Proclaimers to Rwanda.
This area is still trying to pick up the pieces of their lives following the 1994 genocide. There is a heavy spirit that reflects deep hurts still being processed. When it came time to present the Proclaimers®, this group of non-expressive women gave the most unexpected sound. There was an 'AAHH!!!' that swept through the gathering. For them to hear God's Word being spoken to them in Kinyarwanda was a response that was something to behold.
To get your free Proclaimers, please call us at 800-545-6552 or send an email to missions@FaithComesByHearing.com at least 2-3 weeks before your trip to let us know what languages you will need.
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I missed sending out anything for Father’s Day last week, but here it is (just a little late)…
Father's Day was nearing when I brought my three-year-old son, Tyler, to the card store. Inside, I showed him all the cards to choose for Dad and asked him to pick one.
When I looked back, I saw Tyler picking up card after card, opening it up and immediately putting it back in the rack.
"Tyler, what are you doing?" I asked. "Can't you find a card for Daddy?"
"No," he replied, "I'm looking for one with money in it."
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How Fathers Were Created
When the good Lord was creating fathers, He started with a tall frame. A female angel nearby said, "What kind of father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping. And God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child-size, who would children have to look up to?"
And when God made a father's hands, they were large and sinewy. The angel shook her head sadly and said, "Large hands are clumsy. They can't manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on ponytails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats." And God smiled and said, "I know, but they're large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day, yet small enough to cup a child's face."
And then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders. The angel nearly had a heart attack. "Boy, this is the end of the week, all right," she clucked. "Do you realize you just made a father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?" And God smiled and said, "A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus."
God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. "That's not fair. Do you honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?" And God smiled and said, "They'll work. You'll see. They'll support a small child who wants to ride a horse to Banbury Cross or scare off mice at the summer cabin or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill."
God worked throughout the night, giving the father few words but a firm, authoritive voice and eyes that saw everything but remained calm and tolerant. Finally, almost as an afterthought, He added tears. Then He turned to the angel and said, "Now, are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?"
The angel shutteth up.
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If you received this from a friend and would like to join…
To subscribe to this group, send email to
grace-mail+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Or you can visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/grace-mail?hl=en?hl=en
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Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net
There is no place where God is not. God is there in a thousand wonders, upholding rocky barriers, filling the buttercups with their perfume and refreshing the lonely pines with the breath of His mouth. Descend into the lowest depths of the ocean, where undisturbed water sleeps, and the very sand is motion- less in unbroken quiet, but the glory of the Lord is there, revealing its excellence in the silent palace of the sea. Borrow the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the sea, but God is there. --Charles Spurgeon
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Rev 2:1-7
"To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:2 "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place -- unless you repent.6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'
NKJV
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Send good stories and clean funnies to: johnlynnbright@gmail.com
NOTE - All material contained in this mailing is shared as received and is believed, by me, to be anonymous... unless credit is given. Please contact me at the address above if you know the author of any material so that I may give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
got grace?
Missed last week with my trip to Norfolk for the Virginia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. You can see on little comment on my time there below.
John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Prov 30:5-6
5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
NKJV
Rev 22:18-19
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
NKJV
Last Tuesday, I sat in Norfolk Scope for our Virginia Annual Conference meeting. As a part of our morning session, we had worship. This is how the Daily News describes it –
http://www.vaumc.org/Page.aspx?pid=1627
“The audience prepared for worship with Vance Ross that is featuring Voices of Youth, celebrating 25 years of ministry.
Ross read Scripture from Acts. In the text they see how people acted after the Spirit moved them. He spoke on "Awesome-Building." He talked about attending conferences in churches, colleges, smaller venues. And now he's at the Norfolk Scope, an "awesome building." After the Holy Spirit visited, different people lived together, spoke together, held all things in common. "Nobody was cut out because they didn't go to Duke or Candler or Wesley, Iliff, Boston," Ross said. "They built people, they built a movement. They built what we are."
What is does not report is that Rev. Ross – a member of the Baltimore/Washington Conference and serves as Deputy General Secretary of the General Board of Discipleship – went on to tell us that the 1st c. church in Jerusalem did not discriminate based on a person’s sexual orientation. You may ask, “What proof did he offer?” This is it – “IT’S NOT IN THERE THAT THEY DID!”
For the record, I did not listen to the rest of the sermon… I got up and walked out. But I did talk to folks who stayed and he did not offer any other proof.
Now, back to last Tuesday, here is the problem I have with the statements made by Rev. Ross: this is an argument from negative evidence ( similar to the Argument From Ignorance, also known by its Latin name argumentum ad ignorantiam, is the fallacy of assuming something is false if not proven to be true. )
This is my favorite example of the argument from negative evidence – the disciples and Jesus never went to the bathroom. How do I know? “It can’t be found in the Gospels!”
I can make a strong argument that the Early Church in Jerusalem cared about the sexual orientation of its Jewish membership. Just look at what happens when the Jewish-Christian Paul runs into incest and homosexuality in the Corinthian Church. He does not tell them to embrace the Roman culture – rather he encourages them to flee from it.
I believe that Rev. Ross should be more careful in what he tells a few thousand folks in Virginia, but it also made me look at what I had told my congregation. This Summer I am preaching on the Power given to the Church following the Pentecost Experience in Acts 2. Two weeks ago I was preaching on the Healing Power manifest in the healing of the lame man in Acts 3. I mentioned that many commentaries make much of this man not going to them for healing – but I made a case for this man going to God over and over again in his 40 years of life. And I also made a case for his family and friends interceding on his behalf over and over again.
Did I make the same mistake? I think not because daily and weekly prayer times in Jewish homes included prayer for the sick. They prayed for God to heal – they prayed to Jehovah Rapha to touch those who were in need. Do I have proof they prayed for the man who got up and leaped? (btw – if that man leaped, his healing was complete) No, but it is a very safe assumption that God answered prayers for healing then; even as He does today.
I hope this will open up some conversation – see the Grac*e-mail Facebook page or the blog to make comments.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this link from Doug and Mary Jones ( it was good to see them at the Evangelical Fellowship Luncheon lat week!)…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY
You can check out more videos at
http://www.skitguys.com/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Pastor Danny Holdren sent this one…
Can't remember if I told you, but I have moved out from Beggars Alley, located at the corner of Poverty Lane and Down and Out Circle
MY NEW ADDRESS as of today.
is Living Well on 231 Abundance Terrace , located at the corner of Blessings Drive and Prosperity Peak , It's in the God Can neighborhood.
No longer will I allow myself to travel on Begging Peter to Pay Paul Route, located at the dead end intersection called I Don't Have, which connects with Borrowers Junction! I no longer hang out at Failure's Place near Excuses Avenue, next to Procrastination Point.
I've moved to an upscale community called Higher Heights with unlimited potential and opportunities for me to succeed. I can do ALL things through CHRIST who strengthens me!
Life is good because God is good! Care to change your address? There are many vacancies!
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS Oh LORD! I AM WELL BLESSED, in spite of temporary circumstances!!!!!! (AND SO ARE YOU)
DON'T TELL GOD HOW BIG YOUR STORMS ARE; TELL YOUR STORMS HOW BIG YOUR GOD IS!!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got these from “Pun of the Day”. You can subscribe at
http://www.punoftheday.com/
The dessert chef was very smart. He had graduated Pie Baker Kappa.
My friend came around for dinner. We ate for 20 minutes, then he fainted again.
Why was the snake mad at the jewel thief? Because he wanted his diamondback.
We've missed our favorite tea at the Chinese restaurant where we often dine, but we've been getting oolong.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
This ministry will provide free digital audio players preloaded with the Bible in any language for missionary teams…
Every Church Every Village, a church partnership ministry of Faith Comes By Hearing, is funded by donors with a heart to reach the nations with God’s Word. Through this program, church teams, ministries, and individuals can take FREE Proclaimers – available in more than 430 languages – on their mission trips.
Here is what one missions team experienced when they took Proclaimers to Rwanda.
This area is still trying to pick up the pieces of their lives following the 1994 genocide. There is a heavy spirit that reflects deep hurts still being processed. When it came time to present the Proclaimers®, this group of non-expressive women gave the most unexpected sound. There was an 'AAHH!!!' that swept through the gathering. For them to hear God's Word being spoken to them in Kinyarwanda was a response that was something to behold.
To get your free Proclaimers, please call us at 800-545-6552 or send an email to missions@FaithComesByHearing.com at least 2-3 weeks before your trip to let us know what languages you will need.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
I missed sending out anything for Father’s Day last week, but here it is (just a little late)…
Father's Day was nearing when I brought my three-year-old son, Tyler, to the card store. Inside, I showed him all the cards to choose for Dad and asked him to pick one.
When I looked back, I saw Tyler picking up card after card, opening it up and immediately putting it back in the rack.
"Tyler, what are you doing?" I asked. "Can't you find a card for Daddy?"
"No," he replied, "I'm looking for one with money in it."
%%%%%%%%%%%%
How Fathers Were Created
When the good Lord was creating fathers, He started with a tall frame. A female angel nearby said, "What kind of father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping. And God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child-size, who would children have to look up to?"
And when God made a father's hands, they were large and sinewy. The angel shook her head sadly and said, "Large hands are clumsy. They can't manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on ponytails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats." And God smiled and said, "I know, but they're large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day, yet small enough to cup a child's face."
And then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders. The angel nearly had a heart attack. "Boy, this is the end of the week, all right," she clucked. "Do you realize you just made a father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?" And God smiled and said, "A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus."
God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. "That's not fair. Do you honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?" And God smiled and said, "They'll work. You'll see. They'll support a small child who wants to ride a horse to Banbury Cross or scare off mice at the summer cabin or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill."
God worked throughout the night, giving the father few words but a firm, authoritive voice and eyes that saw everything but remained calm and tolerant. Finally, almost as an afterthought, He added tears. Then He turned to the angel and said, "Now, are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?"
The angel shutteth up.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
If you received this from a friend and would like to join…
To subscribe to this group, send email to
grace-mail+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Or you can visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/grace-mail?hl=en?hl=en
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net
There is no place where God is not. God is there in a thousand wonders, upholding rocky barriers, filling the buttercups with their perfume and refreshing the lonely pines with the breath of His mouth. Descend into the lowest depths of the ocean, where undisturbed water sleeps, and the very sand is motion- less in unbroken quiet, but the glory of the Lord is there, revealing its excellence in the silent palace of the sea. Borrow the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the sea, but God is there. --Charles Spurgeon
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Rev 2:1-7
"To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:2 "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place -- unless you repent.6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'
NKJV
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Send good stories and clean funnies to: johnlynnbright@gmail.com
NOTE - All material contained in this mailing is shared as received and is believed, by me, to be anonymous... unless credit is given. Please contact me at the address above if you know the author of any material so that I may give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
Monday, June 7, 2010
Grac*e-mail for 06/07/10 got grace?
Grac*e-mail for 06/07/10
got grace?
It’s official! I know am the proud parent of a 21 year old… where did the time go?
Happy Birthday to my son, Thomas!
John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
1 John 4:7-19
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.19 We love Him because He first loved us.
NKJV
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For Virginia folks on the list, please see the end of this mailing for info on prayer workshops with The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this link from James Willis…
http://www.presentruth.com/
Here is a little from their “About Us” page - Mission: To share the Present Truth of Salvation through various forms of media that will appeal to all of God’s end-time people that are intently searching for a deeper spiritual life.
(btw – if you are new to this mailing, just wanted to let you know that I never endorse every link or post on a site… please be careful and discerning – Matt. 10:16 John()_:-)
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Since I mentioned Matthew 10:16 –"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” NKJV – here is a link to a covers this verse and its connection to spiritual warfare…
http://www.bible-knowledge.com/wise-as-serpents/
Here is the beginning of the article - One of the first rules of true, spiritual warfare is to know where you can tread in this life and where you cannot. God, in His Word, very clearly and very plainly sets out the boundary lines of where we can go in this life and where we cannot go.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The Rev. Billy Graham tells of a time early in his career when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was.
When the boy told him, Rev. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven.”
“I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “You don’t even know your way to the post office.”
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
God's Voice
Not long ago I heard a story about a young man and an old preacher. The young man had lost his job and didn't know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher.
Pacing about the preacher's study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, "I've begged God to say something to help me, preacher, why doesn't God answer?"
The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply, something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's chair.
"Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you." With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "So we will move closer to hear him." This time the young man heard and he understood.
We all want God's voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God's is the still; small voice... the gentle whisper. Perhaps there's a reason.
Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God's whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer.
Better still, I find myself closer to God. And there is no better place to be .......Amen?
Unknown Author
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The Devil's Beatitudes
If the devil were to write his beatitudes, they would probably go something like this:
1. Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians - they save me the effort of trying to keep them from God's blessings.
2. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked - its pretty easy to keep them from working for God.
3. Blessed are the touchy who stop going to church - they are my missionaries.
4. Blessed are the trouble makers - they shall be called my children.
5. Blessed are the complainers - I'm all ears for them.
6. Blessed are those who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes - for they get nothing out of his sermons.
7. Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church - for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.
8. Blessed are those who gossip - for they shall cause strife and division - that pleases me.
9. Blessed are those who are easily offended - for they will soon get angry and quit.
10. Blessed are those who do not give their offering to carry on God's work - for they are my helpers.
11. Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister - for they shall be with me forever.
%%%%%%%%%%%%
Check out this link when you think you don’t have enough…
http://www.globalrichlist.com/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
If you received this from a friend and would like to join…
To subscribe to this group, send email to
grace-mail+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Or you can visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/grace-mail?hl=en?hl=en
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net
Our circumstances are not an accurate reflection of God's goodness. Whether life is good or bad, God's goodness, rooted in His character, is the same. --Helen Grace Lescheid
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Ps 3
1 LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.
2 Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God."Selah
3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people.
NKJV
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Send good stories and clean funnies to: johnlynnbright@gmail.com
NOTE - All material contained in this mailing is shared as received and is believed, by me, to be anonymous... unless credit is given. Please contact me at the address above if you know the author of any material so that I may give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Prayer Encounter Workshop
Saturday June 12, 2010
Virginia Beach, Va.
The Evangelical Fellowship of the Virginia, in cooperation with Foundry United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is offering a Prayer Encounter Workshop on Saturday, June 12, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The registration fee for the Workshop is $30 per person and includes a box lunch, continental breakfast, and snacks. Each participant may reserve an optional workbook at a cost of $15.00 each. Make checks payable to Foundry United Methodist Church (put "Prayer Encounter" on the memo) and mail to Foundry UMC, 2801 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23452
The purpose of the Prayer Encounter Workshop is to enhance an individual's prayer life and to resource a congregation's prayer ministries. The presenter will be The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl. Terry's passion for prayer is contagious as he communicates foundational principles and practical ides. He'll make you laugh, but you will come away from the experience convinced that you can make a difference in your church, your life, and the lives of those who are yet to find faith in Christ.
Terry's warm humorous style makes him a sought after speaker and seminar leader. He pastored for 28 years and is now devoted full-time in prayer ministry. He has authored many books on prayer including Making Room To Pray, Pray the Price, Your Pastor - Preyed On or Prayed For, How To Pray After You've Kicked The Dog, Acts 29, Blueprint For The House Of Prayer, and The Presence Based Church. Terry is an ordained Elder in the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
The deadline for registration is Monday, June 7. Walk-in registrations will be accepted but lunch is not guaranteed. .5 CEU is available with preregistration notification.
Please note that the same workshop is being offered at Tabernacle UMC on Saturday, June 19, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact Pastor Steve Hay at 540-786-6162 or pastorsteve@tabumc.org, or Pastor Keith Boyette at 540-972-8808 or pastor@wildernesschurch.org.
got grace?
It’s official! I know am the proud parent of a 21 year old… where did the time go?
Happy Birthday to my son, Thomas!
John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
1 John 4:7-19
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.19 We love Him because He first loved us.
NKJV
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
For Virginia folks on the list, please see the end of this mailing for info on prayer workshops with The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this link from James Willis…
http://www.presentruth.com/
Here is a little from their “About Us” page - Mission: To share the Present Truth of Salvation through various forms of media that will appeal to all of God’s end-time people that are intently searching for a deeper spiritual life.
(btw – if you are new to this mailing, just wanted to let you know that I never endorse every link or post on a site… please be careful and discerning – Matt. 10:16 John()_:-)
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Since I mentioned Matthew 10:16 –"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” NKJV – here is a link to a covers this verse and its connection to spiritual warfare…
http://www.bible-knowledge.com/wise-as-serpents/
Here is the beginning of the article - One of the first rules of true, spiritual warfare is to know where you can tread in this life and where you cannot. God, in His Word, very clearly and very plainly sets out the boundary lines of where we can go in this life and where we cannot go.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The Rev. Billy Graham tells of a time early in his career when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was.
When the boy told him, Rev. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven.”
“I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “You don’t even know your way to the post office.”
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
God's Voice
Not long ago I heard a story about a young man and an old preacher. The young man had lost his job and didn't know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher.
Pacing about the preacher's study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, "I've begged God to say something to help me, preacher, why doesn't God answer?"
The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply, something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's chair.
"Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you." With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "So we will move closer to hear him." This time the young man heard and he understood.
We all want God's voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God's is the still; small voice... the gentle whisper. Perhaps there's a reason.
Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God's whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer.
Better still, I find myself closer to God. And there is no better place to be .......Amen?
Unknown Author
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The Devil's Beatitudes
If the devil were to write his beatitudes, they would probably go something like this:
1. Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians - they save me the effort of trying to keep them from God's blessings.
2. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked - its pretty easy to keep them from working for God.
3. Blessed are the touchy who stop going to church - they are my missionaries.
4. Blessed are the trouble makers - they shall be called my children.
5. Blessed are the complainers - I'm all ears for them.
6. Blessed are those who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes - for they get nothing out of his sermons.
7. Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church - for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.
8. Blessed are those who gossip - for they shall cause strife and division - that pleases me.
9. Blessed are those who are easily offended - for they will soon get angry and quit.
10. Blessed are those who do not give their offering to carry on God's work - for they are my helpers.
11. Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister - for they shall be with me forever.
%%%%%%%%%%%%
Check out this link when you think you don’t have enough…
http://www.globalrichlist.com/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
If you received this from a friend and would like to join…
To subscribe to this group, send email to
grace-mail+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Or you can visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/grace-mail?hl=en?hl=en
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net
Our circumstances are not an accurate reflection of God's goodness. Whether life is good or bad, God's goodness, rooted in His character, is the same. --Helen Grace Lescheid
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Ps 3
1 LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.
2 Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God."Selah
3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people.
NKJV
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Send good stories and clean funnies to: johnlynnbright@gmail.com
NOTE - All material contained in this mailing is shared as received and is believed, by me, to be anonymous... unless credit is given. Please contact me at the address above if you know the author of any material so that I may give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Prayer Encounter Workshop
Saturday June 12, 2010
Virginia Beach, Va.
The Evangelical Fellowship of the Virginia, in cooperation with Foundry United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is offering a Prayer Encounter Workshop on Saturday, June 12, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The registration fee for the Workshop is $30 per person and includes a box lunch, continental breakfast, and snacks. Each participant may reserve an optional workbook at a cost of $15.00 each. Make checks payable to Foundry United Methodist Church (put "Prayer Encounter" on the memo) and mail to Foundry UMC, 2801 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23452
The purpose of the Prayer Encounter Workshop is to enhance an individual's prayer life and to resource a congregation's prayer ministries. The presenter will be The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl. Terry's passion for prayer is contagious as he communicates foundational principles and practical ides. He'll make you laugh, but you will come away from the experience convinced that you can make a difference in your church, your life, and the lives of those who are yet to find faith in Christ.
Terry's warm humorous style makes him a sought after speaker and seminar leader. He pastored for 28 years and is now devoted full-time in prayer ministry. He has authored many books on prayer including Making Room To Pray, Pray the Price, Your Pastor - Preyed On or Prayed For, How To Pray After You've Kicked The Dog, Acts 29, Blueprint For The House Of Prayer, and The Presence Based Church. Terry is an ordained Elder in the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
The deadline for registration is Monday, June 7. Walk-in registrations will be accepted but lunch is not guaranteed. .5 CEU is available with preregistration notification.
Please note that the same workshop is being offered at Tabernacle UMC on Saturday, June 19, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact Pastor Steve Hay at 540-786-6162 or pastorsteve@tabumc.org, or Pastor Keith Boyette at 540-972-8808 or pastor@wildernesschurch.org.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Grac*e-mail for 06/02/10 got grace?
Grac*e-mail for 06/02/10
got grace?
It’s official! I know am the proud parent of a 21 year old… where did the time go?
Happy Birthday to my son, Thomas!
John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Col 1:9-18
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
NKJV
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
For Virginia folks on the list, please see the end of this mailing for info on prayer workshops with The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this note & link from Dan Griffiths…
Have not seen this in the news, except today a summary in a Christian news service. This is the only article I have been able to find, and it treats the story as a victory.
http://blog.au.org/2010/05/27/outmaneuvering-bachmann-minn-rep%E2%80%99s-military-strike-thwarted-by-au-reconnaissance/
your friend in Christ,
Dan
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
A short one from Ellen Booth…
One Sunday after church a mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. The daughter answered, “Don't be scared; you'll get your quilt.”
Needless to say, the mom was perplexed.
Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea, and the mom asked him what that morning’s Sunday school lessons had been about. He said, “Be not afraid; thy comforter is coming.”
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
This a very powerful pro-life video…
http://www.nmatv.com/video/1318/Preteen-pro-life-speech-goes-viral
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Haha…
Adult's Morning Prayer:
O God, I thank you that I have come so far this day without giving offense or hurting another. I thank you that my addictions have not taken over my life this day. I thank you that I have not yet lost my temper, nor shown disrespect to any creature. I have not lost myself in worry, self-doubt or lack of courage. Be with me and sustain me with your love. And from this point onward it is going to be much more difficult. Because God, I need to get up and get dressed now. Amen.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
And here is a list of weird things to ponder… (if you have received this mailing for a long time, you know how much I like “lists”! John()_:-)
1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.
2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.
3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.
4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.
6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.
10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and tell fishing stories with his buddies all day.
11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.
12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.
14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.
16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
17. Duct tape is like 'The Force.' It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.
19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.
20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
%%%%%%%%%%%%
This next article has some links you MIGHT want to check out. This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart – seeing Christians set free from the yoke of bondage! My fishing buddy, Dale Sides, has some great info to share, but your life may never be the same if you stick a toe in these waters!
The Basics of Deliverance
Dear Facebook Friends,
The enclosed link will take you to an article entitled “The Basics of Deliverance.” It is an adaptation of a chapter from my T.R.U.C.O.P.S. e-book, which is posted in its entirety on our http://www.facebook.com/l/dec1f;www.LMCI.org website in the e-store section. I believe it is a fundamental mistake to assume any of us are immune to demons and their influences. When I recently had some battles with them, this information was very, very helpful in exercising authority over them. (The e-book’s message is just as potent for the writer as it is for the reader.)
We have not published this book in paper form due to lack of finances, but it has received rave reviews from those who have downloaded it. Along with its strength of teaching the basics of deliverance and showing how to be free from pesky demons, it also has a lot of links and references to other works from my peers in the International Society of Deliverance Ministers.
As a blessing to you and others you may be working with, we are offering T.R.U.C.O.P.S. as a free e-book for the month of June 2010 through the http://www.facebook.com/l/dec1f;www.LMCI.org e-store. We hope that you take advantage of this offer and forward it on to others who need the information also. Perhaps we will receive enough donations to publish it in paper, but regardless, the e-book will return to its former purchase price after June 30th.
Please let us know the impact it has on you and others you may be working with. If you’d like to schedule an Exercising Spiritual Authority class where we do deliverance, please call the LMCI office at 540-586-5813. Be a “TRU COP” of the spirit realm and exercise your authority over demons.
Here is the link to “The Basics of Deliverance” article: http://www.facebook.com/l/dec1f;www.lmci.org/articles.cfm?Article=421.
In the Master’s service,
Dale M. Sides
President
Liberating Ministries for Christ International
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
If you received this from a friend and would like to join…
To subscribe to this group, send email to
grace-mail+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Or you can visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/grace-mail?hl=en?hl=en
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net
The Lord is not compelled to use theologians. He can take snakes, sticks or anything else, and use them for the advancement of his cause.
--Billy Sunday
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Psalm 1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
NKJV
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Send good stories and clean funnies to: johnlynnbright@gmail.com
NOTE - All material contained in this mailing is shared as received and is believed, by me, to be anonymous... unless credit is given. Please contact me at the address above if you know the author of any material so that I may give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Prayer Encounter Workshop
Saturday June 12, 2010
Virginia Beach, Va.
The Evangelical Fellowship of the Virginia, in cooperation with Foundry United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is offering a Prayer Encounter Workshop on Saturday, June 12, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The registration fee for the Workshop is $30 per person and includes a box lunch, continental breakfast, and snacks. Each participant may reserve an optional workbook at a cost of $15.00 each. Make checks payable to Foundry United Methodist Church (put "Prayer Encounter" on the memo) and mail to Foundry UMC, 2801 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23452
The purpose of the Prayer Encounter Workshop is to enhance an individual's prayer life and to resource a congregation's prayer ministries. The presenter will be The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl. Terry's passion for prayer is contagious as he communicates foundational principles and practical ides. He'll make you laugh, but you will come away from the experience convinced that you can make a difference in your church, your life, and the lives of those who are yet to find faith in Christ.
Terry's warm humorous style makes him a sought after speaker and seminar leader. He pastored for 28 years and is now devoted full-time in prayer ministry. He has authored many books on prayer including Making Room To Pray, Pray the Price, Your Pastor - Preyed On or Prayed For, How To Pray After You've Kicked The Dog, Acts 29, Blueprint For The House Of Prayer, and The Presence Based Church. Terry is an ordained Elder in the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
The deadline for registration is Monday, June 7. Walk-in registrations will be accepted but lunch is not guaranteed. .5 CEU is available with preregistration notification.
Please note that the same workshop is being offered at Tabernacle UMC on Saturday, June 19, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact Pastor Steve Hay at 540-786-6162 or pastorsteve@tabumc.org, or Pastor Keith Boyette at 540-972-8808 or pastor@wildernesschurch.org.
got grace?
It’s official! I know am the proud parent of a 21 year old… where did the time go?
Happy Birthday to my son, Thomas!
John()_:-) Every time you see this angel, remember that God loves you!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Col 1:9-18
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
NKJV
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
For Virginia folks on the list, please see the end of this mailing for info on prayer workshops with The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Grac*e-mail now has a page on Facebook… so send your friends an invitation to enjoy!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this note & link from Dan Griffiths…
Have not seen this in the news, except today a summary in a Christian news service. This is the only article I have been able to find, and it treats the story as a victory.
http://blog.au.org/2010/05/27/outmaneuvering-bachmann-minn-rep%E2%80%99s-military-strike-thwarted-by-au-reconnaissance/
your friend in Christ,
Dan
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
A short one from Ellen Booth…
One Sunday after church a mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. The daughter answered, “Don't be scared; you'll get your quilt.”
Needless to say, the mom was perplexed.
Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea, and the mom asked him what that morning’s Sunday school lessons had been about. He said, “Be not afraid; thy comforter is coming.”
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
This a very powerful pro-life video…
http://www.nmatv.com/video/1318/Preteen-pro-life-speech-goes-viral
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Haha…
Adult's Morning Prayer:
O God, I thank you that I have come so far this day without giving offense or hurting another. I thank you that my addictions have not taken over my life this day. I thank you that I have not yet lost my temper, nor shown disrespect to any creature. I have not lost myself in worry, self-doubt or lack of courage. Be with me and sustain me with your love. And from this point onward it is going to be much more difficult. Because God, I need to get up and get dressed now. Amen.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
And here is a list of weird things to ponder… (if you have received this mailing for a long time, you know how much I like “lists”! John()_:-)
1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.
2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.
3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.
4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.
6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.
10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and tell fishing stories with his buddies all day.
11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.
12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.
14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.
16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
17. Duct tape is like 'The Force.' It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.
19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.
20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
%%%%%%%%%%%%
This next article has some links you MIGHT want to check out. This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart – seeing Christians set free from the yoke of bondage! My fishing buddy, Dale Sides, has some great info to share, but your life may never be the same if you stick a toe in these waters!
The Basics of Deliverance
Dear Facebook Friends,
The enclosed link will take you to an article entitled “The Basics of Deliverance.” It is an adaptation of a chapter from my T.R.U.C.O.P.S. e-book, which is posted in its entirety on our http://www.facebook.com/l/dec1f;www.LMCI.org website in the e-store section. I believe it is a fundamental mistake to assume any of us are immune to demons and their influences. When I recently had some battles with them, this information was very, very helpful in exercising authority over them. (The e-book’s message is just as potent for the writer as it is for the reader.)
We have not published this book in paper form due to lack of finances, but it has received rave reviews from those who have downloaded it. Along with its strength of teaching the basics of deliverance and showing how to be free from pesky demons, it also has a lot of links and references to other works from my peers in the International Society of Deliverance Ministers.
As a blessing to you and others you may be working with, we are offering T.R.U.C.O.P.S. as a free e-book for the month of June 2010 through the http://www.facebook.com/l/dec1f;www.LMCI.org e-store. We hope that you take advantage of this offer and forward it on to others who need the information also. Perhaps we will receive enough donations to publish it in paper, but regardless, the e-book will return to its former purchase price after June 30th.
Please let us know the impact it has on you and others you may be working with. If you’d like to schedule an Exercising Spiritual Authority class where we do deliverance, please call the LMCI office at 540-586-5813. Be a “TRU COP” of the spirit realm and exercise your authority over demons.
Here is the link to “The Basics of Deliverance” article: http://www.facebook.com/l/dec1f;www.lmci.org/articles.cfm?Article=421.
In the Master’s service,
Dale M. Sides
President
Liberating Ministries for Christ International
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
If you received this from a friend and would like to join…
To subscribe to this group, send email to
grace-mail+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Or you can visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/grace-mail?hl=en?hl=en
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Got this from the “Pearls” mailing list. To receive, just sent Larry Burrows a request at larryb1939@sbcglobal.net
The Lord is not compelled to use theologians. He can take snakes, sticks or anything else, and use them for the advancement of his cause.
--Billy Sunday
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Psalm 1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
NKJV
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Send good stories and clean funnies to: johnlynnbright@gmail.com
NOTE - All material contained in this mailing is shared as received and is believed, by me, to be anonymous... unless credit is given. Please contact me at the address above if you know the author of any material so that I may give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
Grace & peace –
John A. Bright
Pastor, Walmsley Boulevard UMC in Richmond, Virginia
johnlynnbright@gmail.com
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Prayer Encounter Workshop
Saturday June 12, 2010
Virginia Beach, Va.
The Evangelical Fellowship of the Virginia, in cooperation with Foundry United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is offering a Prayer Encounter Workshop on Saturday, June 12, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The registration fee for the Workshop is $30 per person and includes a box lunch, continental breakfast, and snacks. Each participant may reserve an optional workbook at a cost of $15.00 each. Make checks payable to Foundry United Methodist Church (put "Prayer Encounter" on the memo) and mail to Foundry UMC, 2801 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23452
The purpose of the Prayer Encounter Workshop is to enhance an individual's prayer life and to resource a congregation's prayer ministries. The presenter will be The Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl. Terry's passion for prayer is contagious as he communicates foundational principles and practical ides. He'll make you laugh, but you will come away from the experience convinced that you can make a difference in your church, your life, and the lives of those who are yet to find faith in Christ.
Terry's warm humorous style makes him a sought after speaker and seminar leader. He pastored for 28 years and is now devoted full-time in prayer ministry. He has authored many books on prayer including Making Room To Pray, Pray the Price, Your Pastor - Preyed On or Prayed For, How To Pray After You've Kicked The Dog, Acts 29, Blueprint For The House Of Prayer, and The Presence Based Church. Terry is an ordained Elder in the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
The deadline for registration is Monday, June 7. Walk-in registrations will be accepted but lunch is not guaranteed. .5 CEU is available with preregistration notification.
Please note that the same workshop is being offered at Tabernacle UMC on Saturday, June 19, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact Pastor Steve Hay at 540-786-6162 or pastorsteve@tabumc.org, or Pastor Keith Boyette at 540-972-8808 or pastor@wildernesschurch.org.
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